Recycling

Photo by: Beboy

Recycling is a method of reusing materials that would otherwise be
disposed of in a landfill or incinerator. Household products that contain
glass, aluminum, paper, and plastic are used for recycling and to make new
products. Recycling has many benefits: it saves money in production and
energy costs, helps save the environment from the impacts of extracting
and processing virgin (never used; not altered by human activity)
materials, and means that there is less trash that needs to be disposed.

The concept of recycling is not a new one. At the beginning of the
twentieth century, 70 percent of the nation's cities had programs
to recycle one or more specific materials. During World War II
(1939–45), 25 percent of the waste generated by industrial
processes was recycled and reused. Since the general public has become
more environmentally conscious, the recycling rate in the United States
has risen from 7 percent in 1960 to 17 percent in 1990 to 28 percent in
2000. Analysts predict that by 2005, Americans will be recycling and
composting at least 83 tons (75 metric tons) or 35 percent of all
municipal waste.

Curbside collection of recyclable household wastes in Livonia,
Michigan. This municipality, and many others, orders that glass,
newsprint, steel cans, and certain kinds of plastics be recycled.
Recyclable wastes are collected in bins provided by the city.
(Reproduced by permission of

Field Mark Publications

.)

Process

Recycling is a three-step process. The first step involves collecting and
reprocessing materials for recycling. These materials must be separated
from other trash and prepared to become new products. Manufacturing of new
products from recycled materials is the second step. The final step is the
consumer's purchase and use of the recycled product.

Some problems with recycling

These steps may appear to constitute a simple and straightforward process,
but such is not the case. A number of basic questions have to be resolved
before recycling of solid wastes can become a practical reality. Some of
these questions are technological. For example, there is currently no
known way to recycle certain types of widely used plastics in an
economical way. There is no problem in collecting these plastics and
separating them from trash, but the process stops there. No one has found
a method for re-melting the plastics and then converting them into new
products.

A second problem is economic. Suppose that it costs more to make a new
product out of recycled materials than out of new materials. What

Glass containers ready for recycling.
(Reproduced by permission of

Field Mark Publications

.)

company is willing to lose money by using recycled, rather than new,
materials?

Legislation

One way to expand the use of recycling, of course, is to invent more
efficient technologies to deal with waste materials. Another approach,
however, is to use the power of government to encourage or even require
recycling. Governments are interested in promoting recycling because the
cost of other means of solid waste disposal is often very high. If
citizens can be made to recycle waste materials rather than to just throw
them away, governments can save money on sanitary landfills, incinerators,
and other means of waste disposal.

Both the U.S. federal government and individual states have now passed a
number of laws relating to recycling. For example, a number of states
states (including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland,
Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin) and
the District of Columbia require that newspapers published in their
jurisdictions have a minimum content of recycled fiber.

On the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires
government agencies to set aside a portion of their budgets to buy
recycled products. All agencies are required to purchase recycled paper,
refined oil, building insulation made with recycled material, and other
items that are made from recycled products.

Government regulations, however, are not necessarily the best possible
answer to developing recycling policies. For one thing, prices are usually
higher for recycled products, and there may be problems with availability
and quality of recycled goods.

Overall, researchers and environmentalists tend to agree that creativity
will be the key to solving many of our solid waste disposal problems. Many
landfills have reached their carrying capacity. In 1978, there were
roughly 14,000 landfills in the United States. By 2000, that number had
dropped to just over 5,000. Many of those currently open are expected to
be closed within a few years. Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New
York, was the largest landfill in the world. It covered over 2,200 acres
(880 hectares) and reached a height taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Open in 1948, it was finally closed in March 2001. As we continue to run
out of space to put solid waste, recycling, composting, and reusing are
fast becoming environmental and economic necessities to help reduce some
of that waste.

i definelty believe in recycling, it saves time and energy. and so what if they don't have a solution for re using plastic bottles entirely just yet, it just shows how many people actually care about the environment.

Hi, i was wondering if you could maybe update some more information, dont get me wrong this helped me alot and is a great article but do you know how scientists are trying to solve problems of disposal (to do with polymers) e-mail if possible, as i need this for my homework